I
am a native of the deep south, born and raised on land haunted
by ghosts: Cherokee and Creek natives, African slaves, soldiers
of the Civil War, and soldiers of the Civil Rights Movement.
It's not unusual to unearth stone arrow points or lead minie balls
from my flower beds. Sherman's army set camp before the battle
of Atlanta on the spot where my children's swing set stands. A
few miles away, the quiet sanctuary of Ebenezer Baptist Church
echoes with the words of Martin Luther King Jr. The ghosts speak
and I listen because there is nothing I enjoy more than digging
up the stories of the past and showing children the relevance
those tales have to us now. History goes beyond textbooks. I want
children to value history, understand that it is inclusive and
interesting, and realize it is about ordinary people who did extraordinary
things.

I
began writing professionally in 1994, but I've been telling stories
since I was very young. My mother noted in my baby-book when I
was four years old that "Kimmie tells fairy stories as
well as an adult." I started writing my stories down
in elementary school and still have four little notepaper books
I wrote and illustrated for my sister when she was sick in bed—I
was in third grade. But I'd already made plans to be a scientist
after viewing algae through a microscope in second grade. I received
my bachelor's degree in Biology from Agnes Scott College, as well
as a master's degree from Georgia State University, but I secretly
wanted to write someday.

The
early death of a close friend who had planned to be a writer someday
pushed me to go ahead and take a chance on my dream. I dedicated
my first book, The Terrible Wonderful Tellin' at Hog Hammock,
to her and to my grandmother who was a wonderful Southern
storyteller in the purest sense. In fact, her stories inspired
me to write my second book, In the Time of the Drums,
which went on to win a number of awards including ALA 's Coretta
Scott King Award. Other books have followed, and others are yet
to come.